With A Little Help From My Friend
by ilovetvalot
Summary: Post Ep for 5x05 "The Eyes Have It". Morgan needs validation and he turns to a friend that knows him well. This story will be three chapters. Co-auth'd w/tonnie2001969.
1. Chapter 1

**With A Little Help From My Friend**

**Chapter One**

Running a tired hand down his stubbled face, Morgan slowly stretched his arms over his head, wincing at the tight pull of muscles. It was official. Hotch's job sucked in ways that Derek Morgan had never realized before. Flat out, no holds barred, BLEW!

Looking around his new office, he grinned in slight amazement as he took in the wonder that Garcia had created. Reaching out, he ran a finger over the edge of the desk, the firmness of the wood letting him know that it was not a figment of his imagination. How could he explain how much he appreciated his shiny new digs?

Glancing at his watch, he wondered if the team had left, knowing that he wouldn't be surprised either way. But, he still had another person he needed to thank, and if he didn't hurry, she'd be out the door before he got that chance. That new parent glow hadn't worn out of her eyes yet in the six months since Henry had joined their intrepid little posse, and Morgan knew she would be quickly making her way home to her bundle of joy.

Pushing out of his chair, he took one last glance around his darkened office before grabbing his keys and depositing them in his pocket as he headed for the door. Striding quickly through the dim hallway, he noted the empty bullpen, a sense of disappointment hovering around him. Crap. He hoped he wasn't too late. In addition to his desire to thank the blonde media analyst, he wanted to make sure she was suffering no lasting effects of their latest adventure. He could tell that unsub had creeped her out…even if she'd quickly slammed down her professional mask.

And if he was truly honest with himself, he had to admit that he wanted her opinion, too. He needed an honest opinion of how he was measuring up against the Boss Man. Shrugging as he walked down the carpeted hallway, Morgan readily admitted to himself that he was no Aaron Hotchner. He'd never professed to be. He was secure enough in his own psyche to know that he'd learned a lot from the other man. But he wouldn't lie to himself and say that he didn't aspire to be as successful as he was. And he was anxious to know if he was doing an adequate job. It wasn't that he needed an "Atta Boy!". He just wanted to know his team was comfortable with him.

And Derek Morgan was no one's fool. He could feel the tension in the bullpen before they'd left on the case. The tension on the plane. The tension, period. It had almost been palpable enough to be considered another member of their team.

Speeding up his steps as he neared JJ's office, he knew that if there was one woman that would tell him the brutal truth about the job he'd been doing, it was her. Jennifer Jareau didn't know how to lie…not to someone she cared about. Reaching her door, he was gratified to still find it open, a clear indication that the woman was still inside. Rapping perfunctorily on the door, the slight taps louder than normal in the empty hallway, he grinned as he found her packing up her briefcase.

"Hey, got a minute for me, Jayje?" he asked from the doorway, keeping his voice deliberately casual. Not that that was a hard stretch, as he genuinely liked the petite blonde in front of him.

Glancing up from her desk at the sound of his deep voice, JJ smiled as she caught sight of her coworker. Well, rather her new Unit Chief. Cocking her head, she replied, "Depends. Do we have another case already? If the answer of yes, this whole conversation is a figment of your imagination. I'm already gone."

Laughing as he slowly slid into her messy office, he shook his head. Looking around at the stacks of files placed haphazardly around the room, he rolled his eyes. Par for the course, he knew. JJ had a unique system of organized chaos. But, it worked for her. Thus, it worked for the team. And right now, anything that worked for the team was a win-win situation in his book. "Nah, nothin' like that," Morgan assured her with a grin. "I just had a couple of things I wanted to say to you."

"Am I in trouble?" JJ asked quickly, raising an inquisitive brow at the bald man, automatically analyzing the tone in his voice. Grinning slightly, she leaned forward as she said, "Cause I'm gonna blame Reid or Garcia for whatever it is."

Laughing again, Morgan shook his head at her words, having no doubt that she would do exactly as she implied. "No, girl, you aren't in trouble. Who're you kidding? You're the golden child around here."

"Yeah, right," JJ snorted, stuffing another file into her overstuffed bag, expertly shifting folders to fit one more. "So," she said, lifting her blue eyes back to his, "if I'm not in trouble, what's going on?"


	2. Chapter 2

**With A Little Help From My Friend**

**Chapter Two**

If there was one thing he appreciated about JJ, it was her ability to focus on the bottom line. "First," Morgan began, dropping a hand into his pocket as he leaned against the wall, "I wanna say thanks."

"For what?" JJ asked, frowning in confusion. Quickly wracking her brain, she knew that there had been no great feats of heroism in her recent past that he could be referring to, so she honestly wondered what had brought the man to her office.

"Garcia told me the new digs I'm in were your idea," Morgan confided with a steady look at the woman in front of him. Watching her eyes widen, then fill with a quiet surprise, he knew that he had done the right thing in recognizing her contribution.

Shrugging, JJ lifted her lips in a half-smile as she waved a deprecating hand toward him. "You needed a space, Derek. Whether your position is temporary or not, the acting Unit Chief is going to have situations where he needs privacy. I've worked with Hotch long enough to know that. Plus, it'll keep Strauss out of our bullpen. Trust me, Emily and Reid see that as a huge bonus."

"All the same, Jayje, thank you," Derek replied sincerely. That was like her. JJ was never the type of chick than enjoyed a lot of drama. He guessed she felt like she saw enough of it with the job they did. There weren't many cases that didn't begin and end with the lady across from him, and he wondered for a moment if everyone else realized that very thing.

Yanking the zipper on her briefcase, she fought for a moment to force the two pieces of leather to meet. Finally achieving success and looking back up, JJ saw the hesitation in Morgan's eyes. Nodding toward him, she asked, "Was there something else?"

Pulling his thoughts back from his musings, Derek nodded. Now was the time to continue with his original plan, which would move him closer to the final goal. "Second, I wanted to ask you if you were okay."

"What do you mean?" JJ asked slowly, uncertain what her new boss was asking her about.

"This afternoon…our unsub. JJ, don't tell me that you don't recognize a veiled threat when you hear one," Morgan said with a roll of his eyes, his voice tinged with just a touch of sarcasm.

"I heard it, Derek," JJ sighed, gripping the back of her rolling chair. Shrugging with a sense of finality, she added, "And I've heard them before. And I'll hear them again." It was a sad but true fact that she had learned to take in stride, the years on the job teaching her that lesson. The puzzling issue for her at that moment was why the man in her office was bringing it up.

"That's true," Derek said slowly, knowing that any agent was going to accept that very fact. "I just figured it was part of my job to make sure you were okay."

Smiling benignly as she listened to his words, the light began dawning for JJ. While he was expressing concern for her, Derek was uncertain about his new position and needed some validation. "I suppose it is," JJ murmured, inclining her head slightly, giving him the opportunity to continue.

"Hotch didn't do these little check-ins?" Derek asked, shifting uneasily on his feet, uncharacteristically nervous as he felt her gaze on him. The new tightness in his neck muscles returned with a vengeance, reminding him tangibly of his current position.

"I guess he did…it's just that Hotch and I have been working together so long, I guess I don't see it as much," JJ replied with a cock of her head. "He knows I'll come to him if I have a problem."

"Oh," Derek said, floundering, wondering if he had crossed some invisible line that had not been printed in any rule book

Waiting for him to add to that one-word response, JJ kept her eyes trained on him, but only heard the faint click of the heating system. Realizing she'd put her friend off balance, JJ asked quietly, "Derek, what are you really doing here?"

Trying to hold back the wince that was starting to claim his face, Morgan schooled his features into what he hoped was an appropriate expression. Damn, leave it to Jayje to call him out. He shouldn't have been shocked, knowing that she'd never been one to waste a whole lot of her valuable time beating around the bush. Opting to answer her with a completely honest question, he focused on her face as he asked, seriously, "How am I doing here, Jayje? Do I measure up?"


	3. Chapter 3

**With A Little Help from My Friend**

**Chapter Three**

She'd been expecting the question, but the actual verbalization of it was still surprising. Especially when it came from a male as dominant and self aware as Derek Morgan appeared to be. But, she told herself, in his defense, they'd all placed him in a difficult position. They'd expected this man to shift from team profiler to unit leader in a mere number of hours. It was an unfair position to be in during the easiest of circumstances. And these were anything but easy days at the BAU.

"Derek," JJ began gently, sinking into her seat behind her desk as she weighed her word, "It's not a competition. You and Hotch are two very different men."

"Yeah, tell me something I didn't already know, Little Sister," Derek sighed, dropping into one of the two office chairs in front of her desk, grateful for the sudden support.

"That isn't the bad thing you assume it is, Derek," JJ assured him as she leaned forward, steepling her hands as she pressed her elbows onto her desk blotter. "Hotch and you both have your own set of strengths and weaknesses. One of you isn't any better than the other."

"I feel like the team is watching me…waiting for me to fail, JJ," Morgan confided quietly, his words almost whispered in the otherwise quiet room.

"Nobody wants you to fail, Morgan," JJ said firmly, the affirmation backed up by the tone in her voice. "Not one of us. But this is an adjustment that none of us saw coming. Hotch didn't give any of us any warning and that's on him."

"He's doing the best he can," Morgan said, defending his friend automatically as soon as his mind processed her words.

It didn't escape her notice that this man, the one that had fought and disagreed with Hotch more than any other team member, was one of the first to rise to his protection. "And it's speaks to your character that you'd defend him, Morgan," JJ smiled, knowing that their team was stronger for that very fact.

"Of all of us, JJ, you've worked with Hotch the closest. You'd be the best equipped to tell me if I'm doing okay here," Morgan prodded, shrugging off her earlier comment. He didn't want her to pat him on the back as much as he wanted an honest review of his performance.

Cocking her head to the side, JJ measured the man sitting across from her as she thought about her words. Finally, she said, "I think you're doing the best you can in the situation you're in. You've got the ability to be a great leader, Morgan. Hotch would never have put you in this position if he didn't believe that. And Hotch is rarely wrong. You've got different strengths. You're more attuned to the victims. Hotch is more driven in the hunt. You're two different breeds. Neither of them is wrong or right though." Taking a breath, she debated her next words carefully. "You've got to give the rest of the team time to adjust to the changes. And, you've got to learn to listen to Rossi and Hotch. Their advice isn't a criticism, you know. They're trying to help because they've already walked in your shoes."

"I know," Morgan nodded, tilting his head as he accepted the mild rebuke. Then he added, needing her to know his reasoning, "But to gain the respect of the team, I feel like I need to make those decisions on my own."

"But that's just it, Derek. We're a TEAM. Yeah, somebody has to make the final calls. And right now, that's you…but everybody's input should matter no matter who they are," JJ explained, shaking her head as she impressed her point. "The thing about Hotch is that he always takes the time to examine all sides. Arbitrary decisions have never been something that he made very often."

"But at the end of the day, isn't it my ass on the line here, Jayje?" Morgan asked defensively as he leaned forward, pressing his elbows into his knees. As much as he had wanted the honest repartee, he couldn't help but keep in mind the weight of the job, knowing that the buck honestly now did stop with him.

"To inspire the loyalty that Hotch has, you're going to have to learn that we'll back you up. You have to trust us to do that," JJ replied, not letting him throw her as she watched his dark eyes flash slightly. Leaning forward a slight bit more, she bored her gaze into his as she added, "And you have to trust yourself to make the tough calls. There isn't a lot of time for self-doubt in the Unit Chief's position."

Her words took the air out of his sails as he let her wisdom sink in. If he had faith in her analysis, then he needed to recognize the validity of her words. "You're right about that," Derek said tiredly, collapsing back against the hard leather.

Smiling gently at her colleague, his slumping shoulders catching her attention, JJ said quietly, "The bottom line today is that we got the bad guy, Derek. It was a win. OUR win. Everyone came home and the people in Kansas City are a little bit safer tonight because of calls you made. You can be proud of that."

"But-," Derek interrupted, his mind refusing to let go of the topic when he felt there was still areas he had not yet explored.

"But nothing. That's the bottom line. Go home. Have a drink. SLEEP. And let us back you up," JJ ordered, staring at the older man with a raised eyebrow.

Her tone caught his attention as much as her words, and it didn't take a master profiler to catch her obvious meaning. Drawing in a deep breath, Derek smiled with a shake of his head. "You missed your calling, Jayje. You shoulda been a drill sergeant."

"I already am, Morgan…I just don't serve in the Armed Forces," JJ replied, rising and draping the strap of her briefcase over her arm, the leather digging heavily into her skin.

Following her movements with his eyes, Derek nodded. "JJ," he said genuinely, rising and walking toward his office doors. "I know I don't say this enough, but I really appreciate everything you do."

"Thank you," JJ said with soft sincerity, tucking his words into a special place in her mind. "And here's something else you need to know. Hotch would never have had the guts to have this conversation with me. That took courage, Derek."

Shrugging off his embarrassment as he pressed a hand against her door frame, he returned softly, "I had to know."

"And now you do," JJ replied with a smile as she shifted her bag. Reaching for her phone, she glanced down at the time display, then said with a wince, "I'll see you tomorrow. I've got a welcome party waiting for me at home, you know."

Nodding once at her words, Derek tapped the edge of the doorframe, then walked out of her office. The silence of the darkened hallway was broken only by his footsteps for a moment, then his ears picked up the sound of the quicker steps behind him. Suddenly, he realized her steps had moved in a different direction, the soft ping of the elevator catching his attention.

Glancing over his squared shoulder, he caught sight of the blonde stepping into those closing metal doors, her destination clear. Nodding to himself as he turned the corner, her words still ringing in his ears, he told himself that, maybe, just maybe, he could do this.

If a woman like JJ could believe in him, he might stand a chance after all.

**_FINIS_**


End file.
